from the July 2013 issue
Figure 1.
The Gemini South GeMS
laser propagates into
the night sky during
GeMS/GSAOI System
Verification observations.
Benoit Neichel and Rodrigo Carrasco
Gemini South’s Revolutionary
New Adaptive Optics System
Embarks on the Universe
The first half of 2013 has been a busy one for the GeMS team, culminating
with the success of the GeMS System Verification (SV). This article features
many of the stunning images obtained during the SV period by our users.
This last semester marked the beginning
of science operations with the Gemini
Multi-conjugate adaptive optics System
(GeMS) and the Gemini South Adaptive
Optics Imager (GSAOI). GeMS/GSAOI officially started its System Verification (SV)
period in December 2012 after 1 1/2 years
of commissioning. Since then, the system
has delivered new and exciting science to
Gemini’s user community.
GeMS is based on a new adaptive optics
(AO) concept, called Multi-Conjugate
Adaptive Optics (MCAO). The technology
behind MCAO involves the use of multiple
laser guide stars (five in the GeMS system)
and several deformable mirrors (three in
all) to sample atmospheric distortions and
cancel them out in real-time as imaging
data are collected.
Using algorithms similar to those developed for medical tomographic imaging, the GeMS/
MCAO system creates a three-dimensional snapshot of atmospheric turbulence between
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GeminiFocus 2013 Year in Review
January2014